gracious will of the Father calls forth our praise, what shall we say when we

review afresh the documents that set forth the grounds of our enfranchisement.

We were bondslaves, but we have been redeemed, released and forgiven with a

grace that overflows.  In this revelation of favour, there is made known `the

secret of His will' which shows that this church thus chosen and redeemed is a

foreshadowing of the day when in the fullest sense, the Saviour shall head up

all things in Himself, in Whom we find our blessed part, being honoured as was

Aaron, not so much in being allocated an inheritance but of being taken to be

the Lord's portion, His `peculiar possession', unto which the Holy Spirit has

sealed us, and given us an earnest, in full assurance that the redemption of the

purchase shall be effectually completed.  The phrase `in Whom' links these three

sections of our charter together, carrying each stage on as an outcome of the

In Whom we have redemption, i.e. in the Beloved of the Father's will.

In Whom we also were taken to be an inheritance,

i.e. in Him Who is our Redeemer, and Head.

In Whom ye also were sealed with the holy spirit of promise, i.e. in Him, the

Redeemer and the Beloved.

`In Whom' each time refers to Christ.  The Father's will and the Spirit's

witness focuses our adoring gaze on the Sacrifice for sin so freely offered that

we may be set free to enjoy `all spiritual blessings in heavenly places', we who

by nature were so far off as to be hopeless, Christless and Godless.

Can we wonder that we pass from the Muniment Room under the guidance of

the apostle, into the Chapel of Acknowledgment, which section, Ephesians 1:15-20

now awaits our worshipping attention.